From macro market sizing to actionable ABM lists
In today’s competitive B2B landscape, understanding your ideal customer profile (ICP) and the full market opportunity is more than a strategy — it’s a necessity. Joe Hannum, Senior Manager of Customer Intelligence and Analytics at Hyland Software, shares how his team uses HG Insights to bring clarity, precision, and actionability to their marketing efforts.
Completing the market picture
“We work closely with our corporate strategy team on overall market sizing,” Joe explains. Traditional sources like Gartner and IDC provide a helpful high-level view, but they often fall short when it comes to granular insights. HG Insights fills that gap by delivering detailed technographic, firmographic, and competitive intelligence.
“Those other sources are great, but they don’t tell us the number of companies or the install base in a competitive space. HG Insights helps us complete that picture so we can make informed decisions about entering new markets.”
Scoring accounts with precision
Beyond market sizing, HG Insights plays a critical role in Hyland’s account scoring and ICP segmentation. For the first time, Hyland created a unified global ICP across five sales plays, assigning account scores to every company within the ICP.
“The technographic data, competitive insights, and IT spend information all feed into our ICP scoring model,” Joe says. “This allows us to prioritize accounts effectively for each play and ensure sales and marketing are aligned.”
Building an ICP: art meets science
Joe emphasizes that building a successful ICP is both quantitative and qualitative.
“My advice to peers is to blend data with stakeholder insights. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Include salespeople who know the market and get their buy-in,” he shares. Hyland’s approach balances firmographics, technographics, and intent with deliberate discussions to weigh each factor appropriately.
The aha moment: seeing value realized
Joe’s “aha moment” with HG Insights came when he delivered data to stakeholders and saw their reaction:
“When I saw how excited they were about the technographic, firmographic, and IT spend data, I realized the platform’s full potential. It was data they had never had before, and it immediately added value to their work.”
The future of data-driven marketing
Looking ahead, Joe sees AI and real-time intelligence as transformative for B2B marketing:
“With AI, we can react instantly when a potential customer shows intent. It’s not just about scoring and targeting, it’s about acting at the right moment with context. The dark funnel — where prospects self-research before ever contacting you — is massive. With AI and tools like HG Insights, we can finally illuminate that hidden activity and engage at the optimal time.”
The takeaway
Hyland Software’s approach highlights the power of combining accurate market intelligence, rigorous ICP segmentation, and stakeholder collaboration. HG Insights not only completes the picture but enables teams to act with precision, prioritize high-value accounts, and unlock real ROI from marketing efforts.